BEIRUT — Pope Leo XIV challenged Lebanon’s political leaders on Sunday to be true peacemakers and put their differences aside, seeking to give the country’s long-suffering people a message of hope and to bolster a key Christian community in the Middle East.
Leo arrived in Beirut from Istanbul on the second leg of his maiden voyage as pope. He came to encourage Lebanese to persevere amid economic uncertainty, deep political divisions and fears of renewed war with Israel after years of crises. His visit fulfills a promise of his predecessor, Pope Francis, who had wanted to visit Lebanon but was unable to because of the country’s turmoil and his declining health.
Lebanon’s sectarian power-sharing system has long produced deadlock, extended vacancies and stalemates over contentious issues, including the probe into the deadly 2020 Beirut port explosion. The country has been deeply split over calls for Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group and political party, to disarm after last year’s war with Israel left wide damage.
In his speech at the presidential palace, Leo did not directly mention the recent war or the weapons debate but acknowledged Lebanese suffering. “You have suffered greatly from the consequences of an economy that kills, from global instability that has devastating repercussions also in the Levant, and from the radicalization of identities and conflicts,” he said. “But you have always wanted, and known how, to start again.”
He urged leaders to seek truth and engage in reconciliation with “those who have suffered wrongs and injustice” if they truly want to be peacemakers. A culture of reconciliation, he said, must come from the top, with leaders willing to put personal interests aside and “recognize the common good as superior to the particular.”
The highlight of Leo’s visit will be Tuesday, his final day, when he will spend time in silent prayer at the Aug. 4, 2020, port blast site and meet with some victims. For many, his presence itself conveyed a message. “It shows that Lebanon is not forgotten,” said Bishop George, archbishop of the Melkite Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Beirut.
Heavy security accompanied the pope’s arrival. His plane landed at Beirut airport with a Lebanese military jet escort; he was greeted by President Joseph Aoun, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam. Moving through the capital in a closed popemobile — a return to earlier papal practice after Pope Francis favored open vehicles — Leo traveled a route lined with Lebanese troops and overseen by a helicopter. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni declined to discuss vehicle types or armor. The visit came a week after an Israeli strike in Beirut killed five people, including a top Hezbollah official. As the convoy reached the presidential palace, a dance troupe performed dabke in pouring rain.
In Turkey, Leo marked an important Christian anniversary as Ankara has positioned itself as an intermediary in talks on conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza. In Lebanon, he aimed to encourage citizens disillusioned with their leaders and to call on Lebanese Christians to stay or return home. Lebanon, a Muslim-majority country where about a third of the population is Christian, has long been a Vatican priority and a regional bastion for Christians whose numbers have declined after years of conflict.
In his welcome speech, Leo said “much good can come” from the Lebanese diaspora but stressed the value of remaining in the homeland to build “a civilization of love and peace.”
Despite a U.S.-brokered ceasefire last year that nominally ended a two-month conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Israel continues near-daily airstrikes aimed at preventing the militant group from rearming. The war killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon and caused widespread destruction. “The pope is coming to bless us and for the sake of peace,” said Farah Saadeh, a Beirut resident. “We hope nothing is going to happen after his departure.”
Before the visit, Hezbollah urged the pope to denounce “injustice and aggression” against the country and asked supporters to line the papal route, which passes bombed-out buildings from the recent war. Hundreds did so, waving Lebanese and Vatican flags. Mounir Younes, leader of a Hezbollah-affiliated scout troupe, said they wanted to send a message about “the importance of coexistence and national unity.” Hezbollah, primarily Shiite, is allied with several Christian political groups, including the Free Patriotic Movement and Marada Movement, though the largest Christian parliamentary bloc, the Lebanese Forces, opposes Hezbollah and has blamed it for dragging the country into war.
A delegation of about 300 Syrian Christians, led by a Greek Melkite Catholic priest, traveled to Lebanon to join a meeting between the pope and youth and to pray at a public Mass on Beirut’s waterfront. “We are in need of someone like the pope to come and give us hope as Christians” amid fear of an uncertain future, said 24-year-old Dima Awwad, a delegation member. “We wish that the pope would come to visit Syria as he visited Lebanon, to reassure the people and to feel that we are present as eastern Christians and that we need to be in this place.”
Associated Press writers Kareem Chehayeb, Bassem Mroue and Ali Sharafeddine in Beirut contributed to this report.
